


The Spoils of War

by hazzy



Category: Veronica Mars (Movie 2014), Veronica Mars (TV), Veronica Mars - All Media Types
Genre: AU, Established Relationship, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Logan POV, Love, Navy Logan, Only One Bed, Original Character(s), lv au week 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-24
Updated: 2020-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:27:42
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,596
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23287765
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazzy/pseuds/hazzy
Summary: Sometimes the gift you need the most comes when you least expect it.
Relationships: Logan Echolls/Veronica Mars
Comments: 51
Kudos: 105
Collections: LV AU WEEK 2020





	The Spoils of War

**Author's Note:**

> You think you know, but you don’t even know. Bahahaha

_It wasn’t the same._ Feet on rocks and uneven terrain. Dust in his eyes and what he can only guess is the smell of death in his nose. _Yeah definitely wasn’t the same. He missed his plane._

A ground mission with a squad by his side, he could understand the thrill. There was a certain camaraderie that you couldn’t get in a cockpit. They were together, no man left behind - he trusted these guys with his life. 

_He still missed his plane._

They'd been travelling back towards the ship at a steady jog for the last half mile. Had he known securing a safer perimeter for a Saudi school in distress would also require cardio in 95 degree heat, he would have skipped his morning run. 

The sound of bullets hitting the pavement a few feet away pulled him out of his inner pity party, focused his attention. _Right_. _No day dreaming in warfare._ He caught the subtle head nod from Hedge, and veered to the left with the rest of the squad. 

Luckily for them, it didn't seem like they were being shot at to kill, merely to steer them away from certain buildings and back towards the water. As more bullets rained down, he made a note of those buildings for closer inspection on his next flyover, then ducked for cover behind what looked like a former bodega with the rest of his unit. 

The roof was essentially gone, but there was a wall separating them from the bullets, so that was something. They huddled close, some crouching to catch their breath. 

Logan’s mind was calm, but he could feel the adrenaline pumping; heart pounding in his ears. Some of the younger guys couldn’t sit still, heads turtling at every small noise, their eyes shifting erratically; just waiting for someone or something to make it past the barrier. Logan simply leaned against the far wall.

He had succeeded in not thinking about her since his boots landed on the ground, but couldn’t help giving into the temptation now. The guys in his squad had already cautioned him about not getting distracted, “Leave it on the carrier; you're not in your cushy jet anymore.” _They’ve obviously never been in an F/A-18 Hornet cockpit._

He closed his eyes, wanting to get a glimpse of her. In places like this, the only shades of color were brown and red, as far as you could see. Picturing her bright blue eyes reminded him of what it felt like to walk out of the ocean after surfing, with her on the beach waiting for him and not a care in the world; it made his heart hurt. 

He shook his head, _get a grip._ It had been less than twenty-four hours since he kissed the picture in his bunk goodbye. 

Logan was pulled from his thoughts by a low whistle, signalling the coast was clear and it was time to push on. He guessed another mile and they’d hit sand, then it was a short boat ride back to the ship. He had a Skype date tomorrow he didn’t plan to miss.

As he turned to follow the last guy out, movement caught his eye. 

“No way.” 

Cowering in a small space under a pile of bricks was a puppy that couldn't have been much more than a month or two old.

“Did you get separated from your momma, little guy,” Logan whispered as he reached down to pick up the tiny animal. 

“Oh! My apologies, little _lady_.” The pup grunted and gave Logan’s hand a small lick. She was dirty, there was some dried blood in the hair of her floppy ear, but otherwise she looked okay. 

“Mouth! Move it or lose it!” 

Without a second thought, he shoved the dog into his shirt, under his kevlar, and hustled out the door to catch up with his squad.

~

“Well, how much trouble are you in?”

To his left Hurl was leaning against the wall holding the new addition to their unit. 

Logan rolled his eyes and reached over to give the pup a quick pat. She lifted her head at the attention, and excitedly wagged her tail.

“After being thoroughly chewed out for thirty minutes, I’ve been assigned head duty exclusively for the next three weeks, until we get back. However, they are _not_ going to make me throw her overboard, so I’ll take it as a win.” 

Hurl chuckled. “I’ll be sure to keep you in mind next time I visit a stall. I expect that porcelain to sparkle.”

Logan grimaced. “Dude, I am not cleaning up your barf.”

“Piss off, it was one time. I need a new fuckin’ CS.”

“Sorry man, Call Signs are for life and you’ll never out live that one. A pilot that can’t hold his liquor - pathetic.”

Hurl flipped him the bird as they left the officers’ quarters. “She's kind of beat up,” he remarked.

Logan agreed, studying the puppy once she was back in his arms. Now that he was on the carrier, he could see that she was severely underweight and her paws had sores on them. He planned to take her to visit the infirmary right now, at the very least he could get some kind of bandaging for her. 

She licked his chin, as he leaned closer to examine her torn ear. _Poor girl._

His new little responsibility was going to have to keep him company on his first shift in the washrooms. At least that’ll give him the opportunity to get her all cleaned up, he knew there was a shiny black coat somewhere under all that dirt.

“You going to tell Veronica about her?”  
  


Logan smiled. “Actually, I think I might try my hand at keeping her a secret from the tiny nosy one.” 

_Being thousands of miles apart certainly wouldn't hurt his chances of getting away with a secret._

The puppy looked up at him, with her tongue flopped out of her mouth and Logan could have sworn she grinned.

~

“Okay Pony girl, sit.” Logan snapped his fingers and pointed down towards the flight deck.

The pup continued to stare up at him, gently panting. He snapped his fingers again, but she only gave him a perfect replica of the Mars head tilt. 

Three weeks was too long for the dog to go nameless, so as a nod to Veronicas ongoing “buy me a pony!” schtick, Logan decided that would be the perfect name for their new companion. _She’ll get a kick out of it and so will Keith._

Logan crouched down, repeated the command and proceeded to gently push her bottom into a sit position, adding a “Good Girl!” His new, very expensive, ebook stressed positive reinforcement. _Not sure she deserved a treat for that though._

Training the young dog had proven difficult in the few days since Logan had rescued her. He knew she was smart, but all attempts at teaching her basic commands resulted in her thinking he was playing. Not to mention he had lost his dessert rations for the week trying to secure a couple rolls of paper towel from the kitchen in order to clean up after her. 

Taking care of a puppy was a full time job. Trying to teach her wasn't even the hardest part. Making sure his commanding officers saw as little of her as possible was key, and keeping the tiny Pony contained was proving more difficult than he thought. Much like Veronica, she was a nosy trouble maker that needed his full attention at all times.

Four days of head duty was already taking a toll - he couldn't handle another two and a half weeks of some other grueling punishment added on top of that.

Logan stood back up and gave her the order once again. Instead of complying, she gave him an excited bark. He looked to the sky for patience. 

“Dude she's a baby. What makes you think you’re going to be able to get her to listen to you?”

Logan turned and pushed his sunglasses to the top of his head. Hurl was observing Logan's failure comfortably from a lounge chair nearby. 

“When do you suggest I start teaching her? When she's already developed bad habits and is too old to learn? Or after she's chewed up Veronicas favourite shoes? Please, enlighten me, oh wise one.” 

Hurl shrugged and held up his hands in a surrendering gesture. “Maybe you should start your training with _stay_ and work your way up to sit?” He glanced behind Logan and gave his head a jerk. 

Whipping around he saw that Pony had trotted up deck about ten yards, as if she owned the place. “Shit.”

Just as Logan started after her, his CO rounded the corner, coming face to face with the puppy.

Logan picked up the pace to a light jog and heard, “Busted!” from behind him. _Asshole._

“What do we have here? Hi, little one,” his CO cooed to Pony, as he reached down to give her a gentle pat on the head. 

She showed her appreciation by giving his palm a lick and rapidly wagging her back end, it wasn't just the tail that got going when she was excited, her entire hindquarters went back and forth. It would be cute, if the circumstances were not immediately dire. 

“Sir,” Logan saluted as he came to a stand still. His CO waved him off and he relaxed. “Just taking the new recruit for a tour, Sir.” 

His superior continued to give Pony’s ear scratches in silence, which did nothing but crank up Logan’s anxiety levels. He stood back up and made eye contact with Logan, “Lt. Echolls, find your WISO and prepare for this week's training OP. Wheels up in thirty and I’ll expect to be debriefed promptly upon landing.” 

“Yes Sir.” Logan nodded. His CO made to turn, but glanced back at Pony, who was still wagging her tail for him. In a firm voice Logan had heard far too many times, he instructed her to, “Sit!”

Pony gave him her signature head tilt, but instead of her customary disobedience, Pony brought her back legs together and plopped her butt down in a sloppy seated position. 

Logan gaped at the puppy.

His CO gave a nod, walked a few feet and without turning back around said, “Mouth, if I catch the dog with you in that cockpit, your career will be over.” 

Logan watched him until he rounded the corner, then dropped his gaze to Pony, who was still sitting pretty.

“I knew you were jerking me around! My daughter - a treat hustler! You really do take after your mother!”

Pony returned his stare and right then, Logan knew he was a goner. _I am going to spoil her rotten and love every minute of it._

~

“Come on man, I’ve got a meeting! I just need someone to keep a close eye on her.”  
  


Usually Logan knew when he had to be away from Pony and he had more time to barter with the guys to get her looked after. But an unexpected planning meeting had him scrambling.

Everyone on board loved Pony, including his unit lead- Lt. Scott ‘Hedge’ Bushroe. However, when you’re stuck on a ship with limited entertainment and resources, you do what you've gotta do. If that meant watching Logan beg for doggy daycare and taking away anything that brought him joy, while also getting puppy snuggles, so be it.

“Sure Mouth, no problem. I’m just going to need a little something in return for my efforts. You understand.” 

Logan sighed and scratched the back of his neck, “Honestly I’ve got nothing left to give.”

He had already given away all his desserts for the rest of this deployment and he had been shedding ninety seconds off every shower to give to his bunkmate for _“the inconvenience,”_ of a new roommate. 

“That's really too bad, unless - did I hear your name get called for mail delivery this morning?” 

Logan dropped his hand and his posture went rigid. _Please no, not this._

“Because if you happen to get your customary package from Veronica, and it included some homemade treats, I might be inclined to accept that method of payment.”

“Half,” Logan countered.

Hedge shook his head. “This isn’t a negotiation. Are we making a deal or what? Don't you have a meeting to get to?”

“This is extortion!” Logan growled, but shook hands and went to grab his last form of currency.

He glanced down at the dog keeping pace, right by his side, “Feel free to get a sudden onset of diarrhea,” he muttered to her. 

~

“Hi! You look dark! Do you boys do any actual protecting of our nation? Or just work on your tans?” 

He could tell Veronica was propped up in their bed and it made him homesick; he ached to crawl in with her. Logan found that knowing he would be home soon made the longing worse.

“I do my best to get in sun time whenever I have a free moment. Gotta look good for you when I get home, otherwise people won’t believe you when you tell them what an elite surfer I am.”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “Yeah, cause that's what I lead with.” 

“What do you lead with then?” 

“That you've got a very big,” She paused to wiggle her eyebrows at him, “bank account, obviously.” 

Logan hummed. “Wait till you see how big my bank account is when I get back.” 

Veronica sat up. “Oh?” She tilted the laptop a bit and moved her head around, as if she were trying to see below what the screen showed.

“Six months worth of interest! Now that's something to brag about.”

She pouted and leaned back. “Tease.”

“Anything new happening over there? How's your dad?” 

She reached up and put her hands behind her head, “He’s good, a little stir crazy. We’ve hit a dry spell the last couple weeks with cases.”

Her movement drew his eyes to her tank top covered chest, “Speaking of dry spells, um are you wearing a bra?” Logan already knew the answer to the question; the apartment was clearly chilly. 

“No… I’m all tucked into bed silly.” She trailed her hands slowly from her head, down her neck, over her breasts and below where the computer was perched on her lap and then rapidly pulled her comforter up to her chin.

“Now which one of us is the tease,” Logan muttered. 

She laughed.

In his attempt to get more comfortable in his now tightly constrained slacks, his boot clad foot slipped against the floor and startled Pony, who was napping at his feet.

The pup scrambled awake with a yelp and lobbed a glare and a bark at him as she stretched. He quickly reached down to pet her as an apology for the rude wake up.

“What was that?” 

Logan froze and glanced back at the screen. Veronica gave him a look he'd seen at least fifty times from Pony over the last fifteen days. 

_Oh shit! The jig is up._

Before he could confess all, she vollied up an out for him. 

“Is someone else waiting for your computer? You just got on!” 

“Yeah I only got a ten minute slot this time, babe.” Logan watched her sag back against the pillows in disappointment.

He was flooded with an unbearable wave of guilt. Their time to see each other was so precious, there's no way he could leave yet.

He looked to Pony and saw that she was laying back down chewing on the thick rope knot he managed to get his hands on for her.

“You know what, he’s gonna let me run over a bit - So tell me more about what you're wearing to bed. Are pants involved?” 

“No.” 

“Excellent.”

~

“There’s no way. You’ve had that dog for three weeks.” 

“What can I say? I’m a puppy whisperer,” Logan gloated.

There’s not a lot to do on the ship during the final few weeks of deployment. Once the carrier was headed stateside, missions were complete and Logan only got to fly for training exercises. The rest was mostly paperwork. That left an enormous amount of daylight between 0530 and 2130 to train your dog. 

Logan wasn’t sure if he was an exceptional teacher or if Pony was just brilliant, but with a ton of repetition, she had begun to listen and take direction. 

First it was sit and lay down - amateur maneuvers, Logan knew she had more where that came from.

Shake a paw, speak and rollover came next. He was so proud. But this, this was something even Caesar Milan would be impressed by.

“Dude, I’m telling you, Pony can do it.” 

“What kind of name is Pony anyways?” 

Logan shrugged, “That’s rich, coming from a guy that got his Call Sign by flashing his entire squad because he forgot to zip up after relieving himself mid flight.”

Free Willy crossed his arms and shook his head, “Fine. Prove it and my last bag of Skittles is yours.”

Logan had been working hard at getting her to do a mini agility course he had made for her. It was nothing fancy and was macgyvered out of various items found on deck, but he made it work.

Logan had carefully laid out a couple strands of thick rope with a two inch diameter for her to hop over. Then he’d used a broom stick propped up on a couple of boxes from mail call, for her to crawl underneath and lastly, about a yard ahead of her last obstacle, he had propped up a circular life preserver for her to jump through. 

Logan walked to the start of their course and instructed Pony to sit and stay, he then walked to the end and squatted down so she could see him through the ring. Pony knew he’d be there waiting with treats and belly rubs.

Sternly Logan called out to her, “Pony, come!”

Immediately she jumped up and ran to the ropes, she hesitated a bit but managed to make it over.

Pony then went to the broomstick and dipped her head under, it took her a moment to get her body down enough to make it and even then her wagging tail knocked the stick off its perch. _She still made it._

Logan called once more for her to come to him and she did - until about half way when she started to slow down and just as she approached the ring she stopped, turned herself in a circle and proceeded to squat to relieve herself. 

“I knew she couldn’t do it!” Free Willy laughed from the start of the course. 

“Echolls!” 

Logan’s face drained of color as he turned and looked up to his commanding officer standing at the rail observing. “Sir, yes Sir,” Logan stood at attention and saluted.

“Is that mutt defiling my thirteen billion dollar aircraft carrier?” 

“...Yes, Sir?” 

His CO held his gaze and shook his head before turning around and walking out of sight. Logan didn’t know if that was a good thing or a bad thing. 

The sound of Pony’s nails against the deck caused Logan to look down, just as she casually hoped through the ring. 

The only problem for her was that she had no speed, so both her hind legs got stuck resulting in her chin hitting the deck. She grunted but got her legs over and sat at Logan’s feet, fully expecting her just rewards. 

“We need to get you a yard, little girl.” Logan rubbed behind her ears and planted a kiss on her snout, before standing up and retrieving the roll of paper towel he took with them everywhere.

~

“Alright come on, up you go.” Logan bent down and held open his arms. 

Pony happily trotted over to him, this routine well rehearsed.

He picked her up and playfully tossed her onto his bunk. She gave him a growl and positioned herself, funnily enough, in downward dog. 

“Calm down, play times ov- hey; move it.” The puppy looked at him with sad eyes and reluctantly got up from her spot on the outside edge of his single mattress. 

Logan had made sure she slept between him and the wall at all times, he was paranoid she’d roll off in the night. 

He pulled himself up the rest of the way and flopped on his back. He held open his arm and the puppy curled up beside him, the fuzziness of her fur tickled his skin but he didn’t mind.

Logan reached up to the pipe above him and clicked on the small book light he kept there. Pony blinked at him in question as he pointed to one of the pictures taped to the wall. The movement caught her attention and she watched him trace Veronica's smiling face. 

“You’re going to meet her tomorrow.” Logan whispered. 

They had briefly ported in Japan, but Logan and the dog stayed aboard. He was worried if he took her off, he may not be able to get her back on. 

The carrier was due to dock back in San Diego tomorrow at about 1030 and then he’d be home. _I can’t wait._

Pony had inched up his chest and was resting her cold nose against his chin. 

“You’re going to be a good girl right?” As he spoke her head bobbed up and down with every word but she didn’t move. 

Logan wasn’t worried about Veronica's reaction to him bringing home a dog without consulting her, after all she grew up with a dog and had mentioned she missed the company more than once. 

He looked back to her picture again, “She can be a bit surly when you first meet her, but don’t worry about that. It’s all an act.” 

Logan flicked off the light and settled in, “Just do everything she tells you to without question and you’ll be fine. That’s how I got her to keep me around.” 

Logan’s pep talk was interrupted, by two quick jabs of what felt like a foot, to his back.

“Dude, shut the fuck up!”

_One more night._

~

Ever since he and Veronica reunited 2 years ago, coming home had new meaning. Knowing he had someone waiting for him in that crowd made him happier than he ever thought possible.

It was exciting, filled with the promise of the most satisfying few days any man could imagine. 

Logan was brought out of his thoughts when Pony started to gnaw on his fingers. _Teething; can’t wait._

He was sure she was going to miss the attention of all the guys spoiling her with pets and treats. She had become the honorary mascot of his squad and they all seemed to take pride in her rescue. _But she’ll love her new home just as much._

He kept a steady pace, making his way through the thousands of people trying to get to their loved ones. It wasn't easy, with his sea bag and a squirming puppy excited to see new faces. No amount of training would stop her from booking it the second he tried to set her down. 

He and Veronica had picked out a spot off to the side, close to the gates after he returned from that first 180 day deployment. Trying to find each other in the crowd was too difficult - meeting at the same spot every time made reuniting a lot smoother.

Just as the frustration set in at knowing Veronica was so close, but he couldn’t reach her, a wave of people parted and there she was. 

_God she looked good_ ; leaning against the wall, hair down, a flowy white T-shirt tucked into the front of tight blue jeans. The aviators and butch boots had him adjusting the front of his pants. 

He could tell she hadn't registered the puppy in his arms. As soon as she saw him she stood up straight and gave him that smirk he loved so much. 

It was only after he glanced down that she saw. Her jaw dropped and her cool stance turned into a speed walk to close the distance.

“Hey there,” Logan whispered when she was standing toe to toe with him. 

Her shocked look softened, “Hey. Whatcha got there?” 

“Oh this? This is a puppy.” 

Veronica rolled her eyes and reached out with both hands to take the squirming fur ball from him. She was immediately onslaught with face kisses and happy whimpers. 

“I found her tucked under a pile of bricks a few weeks ago and couldn't leave her behind.”

Veronica sighed. “I always knew you'd bring me home a stray one day. It’s no pony but I guess we can keep her; at least it’s not Dick.”

He shrugged and watched her snuggle the pup for a moment longer. “Actually, she is a pony; as in that's her name.” 

“You did not!”

“I guess you’ve got to retire the whole, ‘buy me a pony!’ bit huh? Bummer.” His tone said it was anything but.

She gave him a silent fake laugh and closed the distance separating them to lean into him for a hug. Logan wrapped her in his arms, squishing the puppy between them, and gave a good squeeze. 

“Finally.” He swayed them for a solid few minutes, before stepping back to grab his bag. “Shall we?”

They started the trek to his BMW, him with his arm around her shoulders and hers full with Pony. 

“My dad is going to be so jealous we have a dog and he doesn't.”

“He can puppysit when Mommy and Daddy need some alone time.”

Veronica made a gagging noise and shook her head. “We are absolutely not going to be those kind of pet owners, Logan. This is not our ‘fur baby.’”

“Too late. I’ve been referring to you as ‘Mommy’ for three weeks. She's even had visuals of your picture all over my bunk.”

“Logan!”

“Just the PG ones of course.”

“Ugh.”

When they got to his car, Veronica _allowed_ him to drive so she could hold Pony during the ride. 

He made the necessary adjustments to his seat and mirrors; she held up the dog so they were eye to eye.

“You're kind of small aren’t ya.”

“I’m not sure you’re in a position to criticize anyone on their stature,” Logan told her, as he backed out of the parking stall.

Veronica clutched the puppy to her chest and glared back at him. “The walk to the car. That’s all it took for the short jokes to commence. Are you not wanting to get laid? Because I can cancel the reservation.”

Logan gave her a sheepish grin.

“What?” She sighed as he made a turn in the opposite direction of the hotel she had booked them for the weekend so they wouldn’t have to waste their reunion time driving.

“I had a buddy make an appointment for her at his vet’s office.” Logan glanced at the dash. “In half an hour.” 

Veronica closed her eyes in defeat.

“Then we need to hit up the pet store to get her some food, a leash, a collar, some toys and....” He glanced at Veronica but she was looking down at Pony, curled up in her lap, ears gently flopping from the wind. 

“I’ve only known you existed for five minutes and already you’re cock blocking.” 

Pony stared right back at Veronica, not intimidated at all.

Logan laughed and hit the accelerator as he merged onto the highway. _This was going to be fun._

  
  
  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> First of all thank you very much to MarshmellowBobcat for all her amazing beta skills and basically peer pressuring me into word vomiting this out. I had seen an article about a soldier finding a puppy in a similar fashion, and could not get this idea out of my head. I took a lot of liberties, so forgive me if things aren’t quite accurate. I hope you enjoyed it!


End file.
